Images can support your teaching by clarifying concepts, setting contexts, or making your slides more engaging. The good news is that you can legally and easily use many types of images, as long as you know where to look and what to check for.
These are some of the options:
- Images released for free use, including CC0 or Public Domain content. You can incorporate these kinds of images into your teaching materials without asking for permission. You can find them, among other places, on stock photo sites such as Pixabay and Unsplash, and on Wikimedia Commons. Keep a close eye on the terms of use for each image.
- Creative Commons images that allow for reuse. Licenses such as CC BY allow you to use an image as long as you make sure to credit the creator.
- Images from a website or an image database that come with licenses, that explicitly allow for educational use. CBS subscribes to Colourbox.
- Images for which you have direct permission, for example from a photographer, colleague, or creator.
Clear licensing terms are often the simplest route to safe reuse. Licenses set out what you are allowed to do, including whether you are permitted to adapt the image, share it with students, or use it for non-commercial purposes.
Google Image Search can be a useful starting point if you want to find images.
Use the tools to sort by usage rights and check out the license details for each image carefully before use. Keep in mind that if a license only allows for educational use, images cannot be used in conferences or be made available in any way other than on Canvas.
What if an image has no license information?
If you find an image without any licensing details, you may still have a route to reuse. In a teaching context, the universities’ VISDA [Visual Rights Denmark] agreement often allows you to use such images legally, again provided that they are only shared with your students and are not made publicly available. If in doubt, you are welcome to contact the library for advice.